1923 - 1929 A Period of peace & stability?
Jan 29, 2016
1923 - 1929
A Period of peace & stability?
Gustav Stresemann
• The Weimar Republic’s most respected politician– Prime Minister in 1923– Foreign Minister to 1929
• He started the Conservative German People’s Party (DVP) in 1918
• He presided over a period of relative peace and prosperity.
How did Stresemann stablise Germany?
• Politically– He crushed a rebellion in Saxony– He restored order after Munich Putsch– He negotiated French withdrawal from Ruhr
• Economically– He created a new currency. The Rentenmark to replace the
devalued Reichsmark– He agreed to the Dawes Plan to spread out German
Reparations payments to the allies.– Encouraged investment in assembly lines
• Diplomatically– He signed the Locarno Pact: France, GB, Belgium and
Germany agreed on existing borders.– He joined the League of Nations
• Awarded the Nobel peace prize– He signed the Kellogg-Briand pact outlawing war.
The Glory Years
• Culturally, the 1920s was a period of experimentation and dynamism.– Art, Architecture, Theatre, Dance,
Literature all underwent profound changes.
– The improved economy provides new opportunities
– So think that it is too ‘decadent’• Jewish association.
Hoech
Feininger
The Bauhaus School of Architecture
Einstein Tower
Bertolt Brecht
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=afd717MWOXI
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wlqQvfcI4No
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYX1ZCE8TI
• What happened to the Nazi vote between 1924 and 1928? – Page 15 & 8
• Which party benefited most from during this period? – Page 15 & 8
• What criticisms were made of Stresemann? What was his answer?– Page 15
• In the 1920s, Weimar Germany was famous for its artistic freedom. List as many examples as possible of arts, artists and art forms devised in this period.– Page 16 & 17
• What would the Nazis have to say about this cultural period?– Page 17
Grosz
Homework: Obituary
• In October 1929, Stresemann died of a stroke. The timing could not have been worse for the Weimar Republic
• Write 2 obituaries describing his achievements in the 1920s. – Obituary 1 should be from a sympathetic
pro-Weimar newspaper– Obituary 2 should be from a hostile Nazi
newspaper